Lighting fixture holder assembly



Aug. 26, 1958 E. w. HARRIS 2,849,600

LIGHTING FIXTURE HOLDER ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 10, 1954 INVENTOR.

ED W/N W.- HARRIS A TTORNEVS United States Patent LIGHTING FIXTURE HOLDER ASSEMBLY Edwin W. Harris, Oak Lawn, 11]., assignor to Curtis Lighting, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 10, 1954, Serial No. 468,028

Claims. (31. 240--51.11

This invention relates to a lighting fixture assembly and more particularly, to a holder for mounting lighting elements, such as fluorescent tubes, on channel strips and the like, for supporting the tubes in their assembled relation in position of use.

This invention is addressed to an improvement in a lighting fixture assembly and snap fasteners used in same, such as described in my co-pending application Serial No. 338,847, filed February 25, 1953, now Patent No. 2,765,397. In the aforementioned co-pending application, description is made of an assembly embodying a lamp holder including a lamp-receiving portion extending forwardly from a base dimensioned to be larger than the lamp-receiving portion, and in which a cross slot is formed to extend downwardly through a central portion thereof with a communicating slot extending forwardly through the intervening wall, a housing such as a channel strip in which the holder is adapted to be retained, having a cut out portion in the base dimensioned to permit insertion therethrough of the lamp-receiving portion, but insufiicient to permit passage of the lamp holder base. The holder is adapted to be securely mounted in position of use with the lamp holder extending outwardly beyond the housing,'with the base on the inside having a fastener for securing the holder in position of use within the housing, comprising a vertically disposed resilient finger and a vertically disposed front wall spaced from the finger by an amount corresponding to the distance between the front wall of the base and the slot and joined at their upper edges by a connecting top wall. The front wall of the fastener is dimensioned to extend to the top of the lamp-holding portion when in position of use, and is formed with a horizontally disposed bottom wall extending forwardly from the lower edge of the front wall, and a second wall joined to the front wall along the forward edge and extending rearwardly adjacent the horizontally disposed bottom wall in closely spaced apart relation and dimensioned to have a length slightly less than that of the bottom wall.

While a construction of the type described operates securely to hold the lamp holder in position of use in the housing or channel member, the construction of the fastening means is rather complicated and the assembly is subject to objections from the standpoint of safety in operation.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved lamp holder assembly in which the lamp holder is retained firmly and relatively permanently in position of use, in which the lamp holder may be located in position of use within a housing in a very simple and eificient manner, in which the relatively few elements employed are inexpensive and can be easily and quickly employed for effecting the desired assembled relation, and in which the assembly complies with the requirements for safe installation and meets underwriters approval, and it is a related object to provide a new and improved snap fastener for use in same.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective elevational view of an assembly embodying features of this invention in which illustration is made of a modification which makes use of a wiring base with a starter; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1 but with a different embodiment in the wiring base; Fig. 3 is a plan view taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an elevational view taken from the line 44 of Fig. 3 with the wiring base of the embodiment shown in Figure l; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a snap fastener embodying the features of this invention.

While description of the invention will be made with reference to the mounting of lighting tubes of the fluorescent type along channel strips, such as have become well known in the art as Curtis strips, it will be understood that housing members or wall members of other construction may be employed, such as panel members and the like, for mounting without departing from the spirit of the invention.

As illustrated in the drawing, 10 indicates a metal strip of the type which may be employed such as in the form of a channel section of variable length having a top wall 11, side walls 12 and 13 depending from the lateral edges of the top wall, and grooves and 15 formed in the lower end portions of the side walls 12 and 13 respectively, facing in the direction towards each other for receiving a cover plate (not shown) which conceals the interior of the channel section in which electrical wires and the like may be strung for connection with the sources for electrical power.

The side walls 12 and 13 are each provided with cut out portions in the form of rectangular slots 17 intermediate the ends in the lower end portion thereof, shaped to correspond to the lamp holders 18 adapted to be inserted from the inside to position the lamp holder portion 18 outside the channel section with the wiring base 19 provided with wire connectors (not shown) dimensioned to be larger than the slotted opening 17 so as to be unable to pass through the opening, thereby to be positioned within the channel section with the front wall 20 of the base substantially in abutting relation with the inner surface of the side wall 13 or 12 of the channel strip.

In the past, lamp holders have been secured in their assembled relation by a bolt insertable through an opening in the side walls 12 and 13 spaced a short distance above the opening 17, but in alignment with a vertically disposed connecting slot 21 in communication with a cross slot 22 extending downwardly from the upper end of the base 19. In assembly, the bolt usually is inserted through the opening in the wall and through the connecting slot 21 into the cross slot 22 for threaded engagement with a suitable member generally held in position to receive the bolt in the cross slot. The difiiculty which arises in the use of securing means of this type resides in the inability of holding the small nut member in proper alignment to receive the bolt, and this arrangement is further complicated by the difficulty of gaining suitable access to the small bolt for manipulation thereof properly to engage the nut member and operation thereof to thread the nut member onto the bolt for effecting the assembled relation. The difiiculty of operation arises further by reason of the fact that limited space is available for mounting the members and for use of means to effect turning movement of the small elements in the assembly. Manipulation of these small elements within the limited and relatively inaccessible spaces has heretofore required the use of special tools, and the patience required has therefore made such systems incapable of adoption for mass production assembly.

For power-driving operations to turn the screw or bolt into the nut within the limited space available, it has been necessary, in the past, to make use of a clutch head screw and it was necessary to produce special screws which were relatively difficult to replace and'expensive when the original was rendered unsuitable for use by the power tools.

Instead of making use of a complicated and difficult system of the type described and in preference to the construction described and claimed in the aforementioned copending application, there is provided in accordance with the practice of this invention a rectangularly shaped that corresponds to the width of the slot 21. The slot 23 terminates at its upper edge below the top wall 24 of the base, while its lower edge is spaced upwardly from the slot 17. It is preferably located slightly above the lower end portion of the slot 21.

For use in combination therewith, there is provided a snap fastener 25 in the form of a unitary strip of spring metal and like metallic material having a central portion 26 formed to rectangular shape dimensioned slidably to be received within the rectangularly shaped cross slot 22 extending downwardly from an intermediate portion of the top wall 24 of the base. The portions of the strip adjacent the rectangularly shaped central portion are turned outwardly substantially perpendicularly from the central portion of the rectangularly shaped section 26 to provide forwardly extending arms 27, in laterally spacedapart relation corresponding to the width of the forwardly extending connecting slot 21, to permit the arm portions to extend forwardly therethrough beyond the front wall of the base for a distance preferably corresponding to the width of the panel wall 13. The free end portions of the spring metal strip forming the fastener are turned to provide spaced arms 28 which extend outwardly in opposite directions for a short distance, followed by inwardly turned portions 29 terminating in curvilinear forwardly extending end portions 30 substantially in contacting relation with each other. The distance between the outwardly and inwardly turned end portions 28 and 29 at their most widely spaced portion is greater than the width of the slot 21.

In use, the fastener is inserted in the base 19 with the rectangular portion 26 received in the cross slot 22 and with the arms 27 extending forwardly through the communicating slot 21. When the lamp holder is displaced from the inside of the channel strip outwardly to bring the front wall 20 of the base 19 flush against the inner wall of the panel 13 with the lamp holder portion 18 extending through the slot 17 beyond the panel, the end portion of the fastener 25 enters the slot 23. Upon engagement between the portions of the arms 29 extending outwardly beyond the lateral edges of the slot 23, the bowed-out portions 29 of the fastener are cammed inwardly in the direction towards each other until the panel wall 13 clears the hump, after which the fastener snaps into position to bring the front wall of the base into resilient engagement with the rear wall of the panel 13.

Since retrograde movement of the fastener requires deflection of the arm portions 28 and 29 in the direction towards each other to permit withdrawal of the fastener through the slot 23, and since such deflection is resisted by the resiliency of the fastener coupled with the resistant forces supplied by the meeting endportions 30 of the fastener, inadvertent displacement from the mounted relation becomes highly unlikely. Even forced displacement becomes difficult when the outwardly extending portions 28 adjacent the wall 13 are relatively sharp as distinguished from a gradual slope, thereby to minimize the effect of force otherwise available for camming action.

It will be apparent from theforegoing that there is provided a very simple and efiicient means for effecting an assembled relation of a lamp holder onto a panel member wherein the socket 31 in the lamp-holding portion 18 is maintained fairly permanently in a position beyond the channel section for receiving the end portions of a fluorescent tube in the desired mounted relation.

The modification shown in Figures 1 and 4 is similar in construction to the elements previously described except that use is made of a starter socket 32 formed in a portion 33 extending upwardly from the base 19. An opening 34 is provided in the panel section 13 in alignment with the starter socket 32 and above the fastener slot 21 for insertion of a starter from the outside into the socket.

It will be understood that various modifications in lamp holders may be employed and that various types of channel sections or panels are adapted for use in combination therewith, and that other changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a lighting fixture having a lamp holder extending outwardly from an edge portion of a wire base which is dimensioned to be larger in cross-section than the lamp holder and which has a cross slot extending downwardly from an intermediate portion of the top wall thereof and a second slot extending forwardly from an intermediate portion of the cross slot to the front wall of the wire base, and a panel on which the wire base is supported in position of use, the improvement which includes means for holding the wire base in position of use on the supporting panel comprising slot in the panel in alignment with the second slot in the wire base dimensioned to have a width corresponding to the width of the second opening and a heighth less than the heighth of said second slot and a fastener formed of a strip of spring metal having a central portion formed to correspond to the shape of the cross slot and dimensioned slidably to be received therein in the assembled relation, portions adjacent the central portion formed to extend forwardly in alignment with the second slot when the central portion is seated within the cross slot and spaced one from the other by an amount corresponding to the width of the slot and dimensioned to have a length corresponding to the length of the slot plus the width of the supporting panel and end portions integral with the ends of the arms formed with outwardly extending and inwardly extending portions to define a bulbous portion therebetween for camming engagement with the panel slot upon extension therethrough whereby the fastener snaps into position to bring the wire base resiliently into engagement with the rear wall of the supporting panel as the bulbous portion clears the panel slot upon passage therethrough.

2. A lighting fixture assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the arms forming the bulbous portion terminate with the ends substantially in meeting relation whereby the arms resiliently resist inward deflection of the bulbous portion for retrograde movement backwardly through the slot.

3. A lighting fixture assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the end portions of the arms terminate with a forwardly extending portion integral with the inwardly extending portion for leading into the panel slot in effecting the assembled relation.

4. A lighting fixture assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the lamp holder extends forwardly from the base of the wire baseand the supporting panel is formed with an opening below the panel slot dimensioned to enable the lamp holder to be displaced therethrough as the bulbous portion of the fastener extending forwardly from the wire base is projected through the panel slot into position for mounting the wire base on the panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Van Uum Apr. 18, 1939 Wiley Mar. 3, 1942 Rung'e Mar. 1, 1949 Flora .4. June 3, 1952 

